The issue of beginning teachers leaving the profession in the first few years of their career represents a global problem, and while discrepancies exist over precise numbers, there is consensus that the attrition rate of new teachers is high. This paper reports on a narrative inquiry into two beginning teachers who left the profession after just…

In considering the blurring of boundaries between vocational education and school education since the introduction of Vocational Education and Training in Schools (VETiS) in the senior secondary school system in Australia, it could be argued that the key figures in practice are the VET teachers in schools. The focus in this paper is 12…

This article draws from a qualitative study of seven beginning teachers' perceptions of diversity over a period of 6-18 months. The study found that while initial teacher training had broadened their understanding of diversity and its implication for teaching, it was established pedagogical practices in their schools that influenced the…

Teachers need to know a great deal, in many areas and in multiple ways. Teacher knowledge is a complex tapestry, and teachers must successfully weave the multiple threads. In this article, I present a conceptualisation of teacher knowledge that provides a framework for describing the complexity of teacher knowledge. The framework describes three…

This article addresses an under-researched area of teacher education by analysing teacher educators' constructions of their professionalism and the constituent professional resources and senses of identity on which that professionalism draws. The research is an embedded case study of 36 teacher educators in two Schools of Education in…

The purpose of this paper is to report on the challenges we faced in designing an instrument aimed at measuring pre-service science teachers' topic-specific pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). After the instrument was conceptualised and developed, it was administered to 30 pre-service chemistry teachers. The findings suggest that the…

Understanding theory-practice relationships in pre-service teacher education is an enduring concern for many teacher educators. Drawing on data from an investigation into the theory-practice nexus in an outdoor education teacher education programme, this article examines pedagogical approaches to exploring theory and practice with pre-service…

The shift towards the inclusion of students with disabilities in regular schools has meant that general classroom teachers need to be skilled in educating students with a diverse range of needs and abilities. Together with theoretical study and as a supplement to practical experience, teacher educators have begun to explore virtual and simulated…

In recent times there has been a cross-disciplinary amplification of interest in the concept of practice. In this context, there is a growing body of research considering how teaching and teacher education might be viewed using the conceptual lens of practice. In this article, I explore practice theories to identify common themes and principles…

This paper reports on a qualitative study that investigated the lived experiences of a group of pre-service English language teachers during a teaching practicum in Hong Kong. Multiple, in-depth interviews with student teachers were conducted during a 6-week practicum to understand the students' experiences of becoming teachers. A…

This paper examines the impact of reform policies on the work of Chinese teachers. It explores the policy context in which a fragile teaching profession attempts to develop and discusses the dynamics of interacting societal forces that have created the dilemmas for the teachers. The authors argue that while the continual implementation of reform…

China's national teacher honour system, initiated in 1949, is designed to recognise the academic and pedagogical performance of individual teachers and professional collectives at national, provincial, municipal, and school-based levels. This study employs grounded theory analysis to examine the phenomenon of China's teacher honour…

This study explores the changing professional identities of teachers and their emotional experiences during curriculum reform in Shenzhen in the southern part of China. A qualitative approach to research was adopted. Findings reveal that the informants display several teaching behaviours and diverse emotions ranging from pain and helplessness,…

Recent research focusing on professional experience has shifted towards understanding preservice teachers' learning. The aim of this study was to gain insight into the learning of preservice Physical and Health Education teachers throughout three progressively designed professional experiences. Ten volunteering first-year preservice teachers, who…

The sustained disadvantages suffered by rural schools place the concept of social justice at the centre of any discussion of rural education. However, too often a one-size-fits-all model is adopted that equates it with distribution of resources. Drawing on Iris Marion Young's work, this paper instead demonstrates the necessity of adopting a plural…